The Mall Santa
by Elocintheelvenprincess
Summary: Hermione, very recently divorced from Ron takes her kids to a muggle mall to see Santa before Christmas. Who knew Draco Malfoy would be so good with kids.


Disclaimer: I do not own or make a profit from any recognizable characters or places. I only own the plot. Happy Christmas Readers!

THE MALL SANTA

Hermione Granger-Weasley was exhausted. She was bringing her daughter and son to the mall to see Santa. The two children were very excited, but she couldn't seem to muster up the happiness and excitement that they exuded. She forced a smile, thinking about what happened a few days ago.

"Now wait a minute 'Mione, you aren't leaving me or divorcing me, I forbid it!" Ron glared daggers at her as she presented him with the paperwork for their divorce. She knew he wouldn't take it well, she only hoped that the calming draught she'd slipped into his firewhiskey would keep him from trying to kill her again.

"It's already done. The Ministry already sees our marriage dissolved. The children are in my sole custody, and we have separated our accounts at Gringotts." She stated with more confidence than she felt.

"You….How…..What…..Fuck you!" He sputtered angrily, not screaming or turning the violent shade of red she was accustomed to. She knew the draught was the only thing keeping him seated with as angry as he was.

"I'm sorry Ronald, but I am not a doormat and I will not be pushed around any longer. Enjoy your drinking, and your whores, but you are done enjoying me." At that she turned and left their flat which she'd given to him in the divorce. She'd left him weeks ago after he'd come in late one night in an alcoholic rage.

He'd gotten angry when she mentioned maybe cutting down on drinking. He flew at her, fists and words raging. She'd ended up with her cheek bone fractured, her eye socket was busted, and a few ribs cracked.

When he'd turned his rage on Hugo who'd woken and came in to save his mother, she lost it and stunned him windlessly. Her six year old son had cried because of the broken arm. She packed their things and left. Rose had been awake but huddled under her bed when Hermione had found the sobbing eight year old.

Now the two children were here in Muggle London excited about seeing Santa. She smiled a real smile as her son, whose arm was now fully healed jumped excitedly at the "elves" that were assisting the children in line and helping them sit in Santa's lap. Rose's turn came and she went up, was placed by a black haired female in an elf costume on Santa's lap. Santa was very pale, and with the beard she couldn't tell who he was.

She saw her daughter whisper earnestly in Santa's ear, and he nodded. Hugo's turn. He was lifted by the pretty elf and whispered his Christmas wish to the man in the Santa suit. She smiled at Rose who was telling her that Santa was going to get her a broom when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Santa stood there with her son on his hip. She looked back at the seat and saw an "out to lunch" sign now hanging.

"Granger, we need to talk." Her hand flew to her mouth as she began laughing and stared straight into the gray eyes of one Draco Malfoy dressed as a Mall Santa in Muggle London.

XXXXXX

Draco sighed, he really hoped that today wasn't like yesterday. He'd been volunteered by his mother to let the doting children of London sit on him and tell them about their every Christmas wish. He had been peed on yesterday by a particularly excited little boy.

Merlin help him, he couldn't believe his mother had done this to him. He was only too happy when he realized her assistant Astrid was going to be an elf. His mother had come into owning the Mall in question and since his father had been kissed she took control of the assets and business' that Draco himself had not.

Draco ran a few of the companies and invested within the firms making them richer, but had no interest in the Muggle businesses. His mother had said only three days of Santa duties and she'd remove the stipulations of her will that said he had to have a wife and heir to inherent upon her death. He hadn't wanted to think of his mother dying, but he did so want to be free to choose a wife he could love without worrying about time constraints and wills.

Today was day three and he was glad he only had five hours left. He saw the line dwindling as more people wanted lunch then to see Santa. His breath hitched as he saw the next group in line. A pretty petite brunette with wild curls and two coppery haired children with little freckles. He knew immediately they were Weasley's. He sneered at the woman as the little girl came over smiling shyly and she was placed on his lap by Astrid.

"Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas Little Weasley!" He said, knowing she'd enjoy that he knew her name. She gasped and smiled.

"Santa! You know who I am?" She was excited. He knew he'd made the right decision in playing nice.

"Santa knows everything. Have you been a good little girl for your Mum and Dad?" He asked, not knowing anything was amiss in their life. He noticed the little girl flinch at the mention of her Dad."

"Mum says I have been good, but Dad…he…well….he's always saying we're naughty, Hugo and me. Even when we're just coloring or playing. I hope you aren't too disappointed that we were naughty. We don't live with Dad anymore. Mum says we aren't going back." Draco looked surprised at this news. He thought of his own childhood where he could never do anything right in Lucius' eyes. He wondered if Weasley treated his family the same way his father treated he and his mother.

"Well little one, what is it you want for Christmas this year?" He asked a little uncomfortable at the new knowledge he had. He realized that if Weasley was anything like Lucius then his heart went out to the woman standing there with a wistful smile on her face as her daughter sat on Santa's lap. The little boy held his mother's hand waiting for his turn, excitement evident in his brown eyes.

"I want a broomstick. I love riding, but the last one I had ended up getting broken. Mum told me not to leave it out because Dad didn't want a mess, but I forgot and well it ended up broken. Mum said it was an accident, but I don't really think it was." She trailed off.

He nodded, sounds about right, his own childhood was riddled with excuses and broken toys or dead pets and his mother always trying to explain that it wasn't Draco's fault, not really. He wanted to pinch the bridge of his nose. This little girl had stolen a part of his heart in just the two minutes she'd been sitting on his lap. He smiled the biggest smile he could and nodded again.

"You have a Merry Christmas and if you're good for your mum you'll get that broom." He winked at her and Astrid took the girl and led her skipping happily back to her mother.

Hugo, the little boy was next. He looked apprehensive at Draco and Draco could understand the nervousness.

"Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas Little Hugo!" Draco smiled as the little boy say on his lap. Hugo's brown eyes widened at his name.

"Did Rose tell you my name?" He asked politely. Draco smiled and tapped his temple.

"I knew it already, but she might have mentioned it. I do know everything of course. Have you been a good boy this year?" He asked. Hugo nodded solemnly.

"I was good when the healers fixed my arm and gave me yucky medicine and a yummy lolly last week." He smiled proudly holding up his arm.

"Oh? And what'd you do to your arm?" Draco asked humoring the boy.

"I helped mum from being hurt by dad, he accidently got me instead of her, but it's ok, he didn't hurt her after that, she took us away and got my arm fixed at mangos." He smiled proudly, his grin made Draco's heart sink. Damn Weasley's for getting under his skin. Draco felt his stomach sink at the realization that Weasley has been attacking Granger and the little boy got caught in the cross fire and ended up at St. Mungo's.

"You should probably be careful saying that around Muggle's little Hugo, but it's ok, since I'm also a wizard." He whispered to the little boy whose eyes grew even wider than before and he smiled as if they shared a secret.

"I won't say anything! Promise!" Draco nodded at the little boy in his lap, a lump forming in his throat.

"What do you want for Christmas little man?" Draco asked.

"Mum to be happy. She cries when we go to bed. She wants friends and Dad told her no one likes her anymore." Draco looked over at the woman who used to be a thorn in his side as she spoke with her daughter. She looked tired. He saw the dark circles under her eyes and one eye looked like it had recently been healed. He was looking for the tell-tale signs that his mother hid for so long, he could see it.

She didn't have a confident air about her anymore. She looked tired, worn down. She was pretty in a rare kind of way. She had a warrior spirit, like she'd been to hell and back but she was still there. There was a determination in her stance, like she wouldn't let anything keep her down for long. He wondered how long Weasley had been beating her.

It had been ten years since the final battle, and shortly after the two of them had gotten married. A few years later he'd seen in the Prophet that she'd had a kid, other than that Draco hadn't heard or seen anything else about Granger.

"That's admirable, but don't you want something for yourself?" He looked back at the little boy smiling gently. The boy's brows furrowed as he thought, then like a lightbulb coming on he smiled up at Draco.

"I want candy! My favorites are from my uncle, He brings all sorts of sweets for us, but we aren't allowed to eat anything from his Skiving Snackbox, mum says. Aunt Ginny ended up a canary for a few minutes after Uncle George slipped one in with her other sweets. She was so mad, threw a hex that made his bogey's fly out like bats. It was funny." The little boy was giggling. Draco had seen Ginny Weasley in action with her bat-bogey hex and he didn't envy George Weasley in the slightest.

"Well, let's get you back to your mum. I'm sure if you're good you'll get your candy." Draco smiled and stood, placing the boy at his feet and held out his hand. Together they walked over to Granger who was still smiling and talking to Rose. Astrid would put up his break sign.

"Granger, we need to talk." Draco said, not expecting that when she met his eyes she'd burst into hysterical laughter.

"Mal-Santa, I've got a few things to get done, but we can talk if you need to." She was still giggling. He smirked at her. He supposed it was pretty funny to run into her number one enemy in a Santa suit at a Muggle Mall in London.

"I'm on lunch, would you and the kids care to join me?" He asked. Rose and Hugo looked excitedly at their mum. Having lunch with Santa seemed about the best thing to ever happen to them Draco supposed.

"Of course Santa. Just so long as you don't lose the beard during lunch or it may break hearts." She whispered so the kids didn't hear. He understood, he was pretending to be Santa after all. It just wouldn't do to have the kids see he was an imposter.

"What kind of heartless git do you take me for? I've already taken care of it. Shall we?"

The four made their way to the food court where Draco was spoken to by several employees and children. Someone made to pull his beard off, but it was stuck fast. Draco looked pointedly at Hermione and smirked. She laughed because of the sticking charm that made it seem the beard was real.

The kids were entertained by Draco's antics telling stories of the North Pole and the Reindeer and Elves. Hermione watched enthralled at this stranger who was entertaining her children. What the bloody hell was Draco Malfoy doing in a Santa suit regaling tales of Reindeer's flying and elves making toys.

She hid a smile behind her hand as slowly a small gathering of children surrounded them laughing at the funny parts of the stories. She knew most of these children were muggles, what kind of alternate reality had she dropped into with Draco entertaining muggles, and her kids. Kids of a blood traitor and mudblood.

"Mr. Clause, a word?" A soft voice of a tall regal blonde with the sharp features of her son looked upon them. Hermione's heart thumped heavily within her chest as she gazed at Narcissa Malfoy who was a picture of poise and grace, her face masked, with lips slightly curved up in the corners.

"Of course, children, Santa has to get back to work, time is getting close and I simply must find out what you all want before time to deliver all these presents." He winked at Hermione at this. The kids dispersed and Hermione sat at the table with her own two children while Draco stood to talk to Narcissa in whispers.

"Draco, you know who that is don't you?" Narcissa asked him. He scoffed, how thick did his mother think he was?

"Of course I know who that is, I'm not daft!" He exclaimed, rubbing his head on the back of his neck. The hat and beard were starting to itch. Another four hours and he'd be free from his impersonation of the Jolly Man.

"She's divorced. I read in the Prophet earlier this week. She filed and got it pushed through based on pensieve reviews of her memories and medical records. Rita couldn't publish as much as she knew, don't know why, but she told me that she knew for a fact that Mrs. Weasley had several suspicious accidents over the past few years. Two weeks ago she was admitted alongside the boy for injuries. Rita said the medical records said assault to their persons, but didn't name names. Anyone can guess though, especially with her divorce." His mother was rambling, he could tell she was thinking of herself and the situation he himself had grown up in.

"Mother, I gleaned that information from the children in the five minutes they were on my lap. They were quite chatty with dear old Santa. Not that there's anything wrong with that. If it were any other bloke sitting in the chair they may not have read as much into what the kids' said." He hinted and his mother paled. He only understood what happened because of his own past.

"Well finish your lunch then get back to the line, I think a fair amount of children are lining up." She smiled to him and disappeared into a crowd of shoppers. He came back over and sat beside Hugo.

"So Granger, what are you doing this afternoon? I know a gentleman who wants to take you to dinner. Or order take-away if you prefer to stay in with Rose and Hugo here." Draco decided to go out on a limb.

Hermione had a lot of questions, and smiled.

"Well Santa, if you want you can relay the message to the gentleman that he can floo to the Granger home at 5:30 and we can discuss take-away options." She smiled at him. The kids were busy eating and didn't notice the adults smiling at one another.

"I'll let him know then." Draco took her hand and brought it up to his lips. It was surprising warm, the feeling of her hand in his. She smiled at the warmth of his lips as they brushed against the back of her fingers. Her eyes met his and she couldn't describe what she found within those titanium depths.

"Happy Christmas Hermione Granger, Rose, and Hugo." Draco said releasing her hand and dropping the muggle bills down to pay for the meals.

Hermione's heart was pounding like a schoolgirl with her first crush.

"Mum, Santa said if I was good for you I'd get candy!" Hugo squealed as only a boy of six could.

"And I'd get a broomstick to replace the last one!" Rose was jumping excitedly in her seat.

"Well children, if you're really good we shall all get what we want for Christmas, now off we go. We have a gentleman coming for dinner and we have a lot to do before then. Off we go now!" Hermione smiled as they left the Mall. Of all the things she'd seen in her short life, Draco Malfoy in a Santa Suit had to be the highlight.


End file.
